The Terminal List: Dark Wolf proves that Taylor Kitsch was cast in the wrong part in 2017’s American ᴀssᴀssin. Kitsch has been on a run of great shows in recent years, including the bleak American Primal. He was such a scene-stealer in 2022’s The Terminal List that he earned his own spinoff, Dark Wolf.
Time will tell if Kitsch’s Ben is still alive for Terminal List season 2, considering his ambiguous fate in the original series. Kitsch’s recent success has been great to see, especially after he was touted as the next big thing in 2012 with failed blockbusters John Carter and Battleship.
Kitsch has aged nicely into grizzled antihero roles, with The Terminal List: Dark Wolf being one of his best leading man efforts. He has also been absent from the big screen for the past six years, with the failed franchise launcher American ᴀssᴀssin being one of Kitsch’s last big films.
American ᴀssᴀssin Should Have Made Taylor Kitsch The Hero Instead Of The Villain
American ᴀssᴀssin is based on the Mitch Rapp novels by the late author Vince Flynn. In the books, Rapp is a rule-breaking special operative whom the CIA calls to take care of special threats. Rapp is a character who felt custom-built for a live-action adaptation, with actors like Colin Farrell and Chris Hemsworth having circled it.
In the end, The Maze Runner’s Dylan O’Brien was cast in American ᴀssᴀssin, based on a book that acted as Rapp’s origin story. This pits Rapp against a vengeful ex-CIA operative called “Ghost,” played by Taylor Kitsch. In just about every way, Ghost is Rapp’s evil alter-ego, including being a former pupil of Rapp’s gruff mentor, Hurley (Michael Keaton).
Naturally, Kitsch is completely convincing with the action side of American ᴀssᴀssin, though such a clichéd part gives him little to work with. Still, he’s a magnetic presence, so when Ghost pops up, the film suddenly becomes interesting again.
While he may have thrown himself into it, O’Brien was too young for Rapp. This means the myriad scenes when he talks or acts tough around co-stars like Keaton or Scott Adkins never ring true. This is especially true of O’Brien’s finale showdown with Kitsch, where it only feels like Rapp wins because that’s what the script says.
American ᴀssᴀssin isn’t a great movie, but it would have earned an extra star had Kitsch played Rapp instead. Where O’Brien felt too youthful to pull it off, Kitsch was at just the right age and had a solid decade of starring roles to back him up.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Proves Taylor Kitsch Would Have Been A Great Mitch Rapp
Dark Wolf is the rare spinoff better than its parent series. Kitsch’s troubled ex-Navy SEAL Edwards is a more compelling character, and while he means to do good, his addiction to action sees him pulled deeper into the murky world of CIA Black Ops.
While Edwards and Rapp have plenty of differences as characters, Dark Wolf underlines how good Kitsch would have been fronting American ᴀssᴀssin. He’s great with Dark Wolf’s setpieces and keeps Edwards likable and sympathetic – even when the character’s actions are pretty dubious.
Mitch Rapp creator Vince Flynn envisioned Eric Bana as the character, based on his performance in Black Hawk Down.
It was also a mistake to start a potential Mitch Rapp franchise with a rookie version. The CIA operative needed some dirt under his fingernails already, and the cocky brashness of O’Brien’s Rapp comes across as obnoxious and bratty instead of badᴀss.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf feels like a more authentic take on the Mitch Rapp character than American ᴀssᴀssin ever does, especially once Edwards’ Black Ops work begins. The show even outshines the 2017 movie in terms of action, including an epic firefight in Dark Wolf’s finale.
American ᴀssᴀssin Failed To Launch A New Action Franchise
The Terminal List is based on Jack Carr’s James Reece series, which is the latest in a line of hit Amazon shows based on popular books. Given the success of Jack Ryan and Reacher, it’s a shocker the streamer hasn’t tried to get a Mitch Rapp show going too.
After all, it feels like American ᴀssᴀssin has largely been forgotten. The film stands at a measly 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, though it made about twice its budget with $67 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). The film was a modest hit, but not nearly enough to spawn a planned franchise.
In a post-Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer world, American ᴀssᴀssin just felt too familiar. O’Brien just didn’t suit the character either, so unless he took a very different approach with a potential sequel, it’s hard to imagine a follow-up being better received.
There’s a lot of wasted potential with American ᴀssᴀssin, though it feels like a new Mitch Rapp movie could take up for that. If he’s done with The Terminal List, Kitsch could still work as Rapp too. Ironically, that probably won’t happen since the character isn’t too far away from Edwards.
Somebody will inevitably dust off Mitch Rapp for a new film or show. Hopefully, lessons were learned from American ᴀssᴀssin, and chiefly that Rapp should be a more experienced character. Until then, Rapp fans would do well to check out The Terminal List: Dark Wolf.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
